


Creating a Nabatean

by FoxyEmperor



Series: Living with a Nabatean [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Adorable Nabateans, Blood and Gore, Childbirth, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, General Spoilers regarding Seteth and Flayn, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Miscarriage, Mutual Masturbation, Post-Church Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Romance, Sex on top of a Wyvern, Sexual Tension, Smut, Voyeurism, Yeah you read that right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:09:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27503581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxyEmperor/pseuds/FoxyEmperor
Summary: When Byleth was sure that she was finally alone, she tiredly put her head into her hands. Her fingers dug into her bright green strands, nails scratching her scalp. She rocked back in forth in misery as she contemplated on how to tell her husband that she lost their child.The newly wedded rulers of Fódlan are ready to perpetuate the bloodline of their long forgotten race. However, Seteth and Byleth discover that despite reigning during a time of peace, their troubles were far from over.
Relationships: Mentioned Ferdinand von Aegir/Flayn, My Unit | Byleth/Seteth
Series: Living with a Nabatean [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990297
Comments: 48
Kudos: 140





	1. Incompatible

“Manuela, I must _insist_ that you allow me in this instant!”

“As I have already told you, Seteth, my patient has asked that I keep out all visitors. That includes even you.”

“My wife is obviously hurt if she is in here. I have to see her! I beg you allow me in, I will not ask again!”

“Well thank the Goddess, then! I am tired of wasting my time arguing with you when I have a patient to care for. Now if you’ll excuse me...” Manuela abruptly shuts the door in the seething face of Fódlan’s prime minister. 

“Insufferable arrogance! Do you dare compound your crimes further?! There will be no escape for you!” Seteth howled in outrage as he banged his fist on the infirmary door.

Just on the other side, Manuela leant against the rattling door before sliding down to the floor, taking out a flask of some unknown alcoholic beverage and considered taking a swig. Though seeing as she still had one patient left for the day, she thought better of it. 

Manuela reluctantly put the drink away as she sighed, “I don’t know how you put up with him. While he is quite handsome, his over bearing personality would get old very quickly.” When she heard no response from her patient she got concerned. “Oh Your Majesty, have the herbs I gave you wore off already? I’d give you more, but too many pain killers at one time would cause adverse affects.”

“I’m alright, thank you. I just need to be alone for a bit,” Byleth replied softly from one of the infirmary beds. “Please tell Seteth that I’m perfectly fine and will see him for dinner later this evening.”

When the door gave an abrupt **BANG** , causing Manuela to lurch forward from the force, she hit her fist against the door in retaliation. “Piss off, will you? Your wife is doing just fine and promises to meet you for dinner tonight.”

There was a brief moment of silence from the other side before they heard a muffled, “Are you sure? You’re not just saying that to send me away?”

“I’m very much trying to shoo you away, but it doesn’t make my statement any less true. She’ll see you soon,” Manuel retorted as she stood back up on her feet, preparing to send a nasty spell at the persistent man in case he didn’t get smart soon.

Not trusting her paranoid husband to take the physician’s word, Byleth rose her voice to a volume he could hear from the other side, “Seteth, do not worry. I promise I’ll see you at dinner.”

“I...I suppose I’ll have to accept that. You will inform me of everything tonight?” Seteth asked beseechingly.

Just as she was about to affirm her husband’s request, Byleth curled up further within herself as she felt another spasm of pain in her abdomen. 

The door handle rattled furiously as Seteth cried, “Byleth?!”

Through gritted teeth she yelled back, “I’m _fine_! Please go and focus on finishing your duties so we can have dinner on time together.”

“O-of course, my love. I apologize...for wasting so much time,” Byleth heard Seteth stiffly say before hearing his footsteps fade down the hall. 

When the pain subsided for the final time, Byleth looked down to see that the originally white bedsheets were now stained even more red. _So much blood..._

Manuela approached her bed quietly and held her hand gently in comfort. “I can tell Seteth that you suddenly remembered that you had to finish a thing by tonight and can’t make it to dinner. I can change the sheets into something more comfortable for you to spend the night in and I can brew you this absolutely _divine_ tea that Hanneman gifted me, and—“

Byleth squeezed Manuela’a hand in reassuring gesture. “That is not necessary. I just need a few more minutes and then I’ll be good to go. I would appreciate a change of clothes to be brought from my room though.”

Manuela perked up. “Oh of course! I’ll go get them myself.” She quickly strutted out of the room before poking her head back in to advise, “You just sit there and relax!”

When Byleth was sure that she was finally alone, she tiredly put her head into her hands. Her fingers dug into her bright green strands, nails scratching her scalp. She rocked back in forth in misery as she contemplated on how to tell her husband that she lost their child.

* * *

Later that evening, both Byleth and Seteth walked into their bedroom to settle in for the night after a very quiet dinner. Seteth had noticed that his wife barely ate anything, which was very unusual of her since becoming pregnant shortly after their honeymoon just three moons ago. 

Byleth stood in front of her mirror as began to undress to change into her night clothes. It was when she was about to lift the dress above her abdomen that she looked up to see Seteth’s reflection of him worriedly watching her. She hated causing him so much grief and decided that it wasn’t fair of her to keep something of such importance from him. 

Byleth closed her eyes briefly as she let out a long exhale before turning to face him. His pale, pinched expression a stark contrast from when she had originally revealed her pregnancy to him. His entire face had lit up in pure joy as he jubilantly lifted her up into his arms, peppering kisses all over her face as he murmured his excitement to having another child. He’d gently caress her abdomen every night before he fell asleep, loving their child so deeply already. 

The news was going to break his heart. 

“Byleth I cannot stand your silence for another moment. _Please_ tell me what ails you and I will do everything I can to help,” Seteth begged as he walked over to her to hold her shaking hands in his. 

The only time in her life that Byleth had ever cried was when her father had suddenly been taken from her. It was only fitting that the next time would be at the loss of her child.

However, Seteth hadn’t been with her when she had mourned for her father so this was the first time he has ever seen her cry. Upon seeing her tears he immediately wrapped her into his arms to console her. “My love, what has happened!?”

“I lost the baby, Seteth. Our child is gone!” sobbed Byleth as she buried her face into his chest, not caring that her tears and snot were causing wet stains in his clothing.

Seteth said nothing. He continued to hold her trembling form, stroking her hair and rubbing her back in a comforting gesture as she cried into his chest.

At her husband’s silence, Byleth felt herself get hysterical. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Seteth. I know you wanted another child. Please forgive me!” she sobbed even harder. 

“There is nothing for you to apologize for, my dearest, _darling_ Byleth,” Seteth finally whispered. He lifted her into his strong, safe arms, carrying her to their bed and gently laid her down. He wrapped her up in their blankets and held her tightly, rocking back and forth as he murmured sweet conciliations in her ear as she continued to cry. 

“Unfortunately, these things just happen. The commonality doesn’t at all diminish our grief, but there is absolutely no place for such blame. It will be alright, my love. I treasure you so very much and I will not allow you to spend another moment blaming yourself over something in which you had no control over,” Seteth consoled. 

After a few minutes of sobbing, Byleth looked up at her sweet husband whom was still rocking her so tenderly. Even though there wasn’t a tear in sight on his pale face, his eyes and the tip of his nose were red, and his mouth formed a thin line. It looked as if he was doing his upmost to keep himself together. 

“I think you should take the next few days off. I imagine that your body isn’t finished completing your miscarriage, and you should not be working during this ordeal,” Seteth said firmly. When it looked as if Byleth was about to protest he placed a finger over her lips to quiet her before continuing, “I insist. You need to rest and heal. I will have maids and healers with you at all times to make sure you are want for nothing.”

Byleth shook away his finger furiously, and snapped, “And what about you? This was your child, too!”

Seteth quickly kissed her to silence any further protest, his lips trembling with barely restrained emotion, his tongue plunging into her mouth in a desperate attempt to feel something other than the agony they both felt at the loss of their unborn child. Overwhelmed by her own grief, Byleth matched his intensity, her tongue dancing with his as she moaned loudly into his panting mouth. 

After a few minutes of their impromptu make out session, Seteth finally pulled away with a sigh, “Perhaps I could take a day or two of reduced workload. But, only if you take the entire week off, starting tomorrow. And if you still feel any symptoms afterwards, you go straight to the infirmary.”

Knowing that there was no arguing with Seteth when he was in one of his overprotective moods, Byleth nodded reluctantly in agreement.

Relieved, Seteth kissed the top of her head with a strained smile before murmuring, “This isn’t the end, my love. There’s plenty of time for us to try again—whenever you are ready of course. I have no intentions on rushing anything.”

* * *

It wouldn’t be for another three months until they made love again, for Seteth feared that any penetration would hurt Byleth so soon after her miscarriage. And just like after their first time, Byleth started to feel nausea about a month later. 

The Queen of the United Kingdom of Fódlan was with child once again. 

Seteth was ever the dutiful husband. Every morning he held Byleth’s hair away from her face as she vomited into a chamber pot, rubbing soothing circles on her back. He made sure that she had the highest quality ginger tea leaves brewed for her at 11am and 4pm every day to help quell her nausea. Every evening before bed he’d give her the most thorough massage, taking care to caress and kiss her slightly swollen belly. Due to Byleth’s rampant hormones from her pregnancy, his ministrations would very often lead to sex; though to Byleth’s frustration he would insist she lie in very specific positions as to not ‘squash the growing baby’ during their coupling. 

It was on a particularly hot summer morning when things turned for the worst. After a long meeting with Petra and her ambassadors from Brigid ending sooner than expected due to Byleth suddenly suffering from cramps and lower back pain, she had a bit of spare time in her day. After her lower abdominal cramps passed, she used the rare moments of freedom to continue decorating the nursery with Bernadetta, whom had sewed and embroidered all the dolls and cushions an infant could possibly want. 

It was when her cramps suddenly came back with a vengeance, the sharp pain causing Byleth to stoop over and hiss through gritted teeth that she realized something was very wrong. True to her nature, Bernadetta panicked at seeing her old professor in agony from an unknown ailment, hysterically ranting for several minuting before she heard Byleth shouting for her to find one of the maids to draw her a bath.

Hoping that it was all just paranoia, Byleth sank into the warm water to soothe away all her discomfort. Just as she was about to exit the tub, the cramps rolled through once more. It was when she saw the water start to change color that her fears had been confirmed. 

Seteth suddenly barged into the room, desperate to see his wife after hearing from an overwrought Bernadetta that Byleth had been hurt somehow. When he saw his beloved weeping with her head in her hands as she sat in a tub full of red water, his heart sank. 

They had lost their baby once again.

* * *

With having two miscarriages within a span of 9 months, they weren’t in any hurry to try for another baby anytime soon. The rulers of Fódlan kept their grief at bay by throwing themselves into their work, which was easy to do since they both had most important duties to complete on a daily basis. 

It wasn’t until their one year anniversary during the Wyvern Moon that they finally had sex again. They still weren’t specifically aiming for conception, but they couldn’t deny themselves the pleasures of each other’s flesh any longer. After their particularly rough round of sex, Seteth collapsed onto Byleth once he finally finished emptying inside of her. When he finally came to, he quickly rolled off of her and profusely apologized, “Forgive me, my love. I don’t know what came over me.” He got up from their bed to clean them both up and removed the ruined towel that he had laid underneath them during their lovemaking.

Byleth sighed during his near frantic fussing. While she was aroused by the sheer amount of his release during every orgasm, it was always a hassle for him to have to immediately get up during their post orgasmic glow to clean up his mess. 

After taking care of disposing the evidence of their coupling, Seteth climbed back onto the bed to curl up behind his wife, nuzzling into her neck before whispering, “Happy Anniversary, Byleth.”

Byleth hummed in contentment, further snuggling into his arms. However, when she felt a bit of his release leak out of her, her mind started to wonder to thoughts she had tried to keep tucked away from the forefront of her mind. Frowning, she turned in his arms to look up into his sleepy eyes and asked, “Do you think I’ll get pregnant again from this?”

The foggy contentment in his eyes immediately cleared as he stared back down at her. He took a few moments to answer, very carefully thinking of his next words: “It’s of course possible, but we’ve honestly made love too few times to have any real quantitative data to go by. The first two times could be easily dismissed as coincidences. However, if you do get pregnant for the third time from this, then we’ll know that my seed is quite...potent.”

Byleth shook her head, turning back around to face forward into the room’s darkness, only faintly illuminated by the dying embers in the fireplace. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” she whispers. “I’m not ready to carry another child so soon after losing two this year. I cannot bear it.”

She felt Seteth swallow thickly and then he wrapped his arms around her more tightly. “We will cross that bridge when we get there. For now, sleep. Think pleasant thoughts and sweet dreams,” he consoled. They soon drifted off to sleep. 

Three weeks later, Byleth had Manuela perform a test of whether she could detect a growing child. While Byleth was skilled in faith magic, she hadn’t yet learned to focus those skills towards advanced medical use and therefore watched in rapt attention as the physician hovered her hands over the young queen’s stomach. A white glow was emitting from her outstretched palms as she moved her hands all around Byleth’s midriff and groin for a few minutes.

When the light suddenly turned green, Manuela grinned widely. “Oh, Byleth! Many would kill for your fertility. You’re pregnant again!” She exclaimed excitedly as she turned to look at Byleth. However, when Manuela saw her expression, her face immediately fell. 

Later that night, Byleth informed Seteth that she was pregnant once again. His face was similar to what hers had been earlier: shock, excitement, fear, and then finally just tired resignation. He held her hand in his and forced a smile on his stressed face as he said, “Well, third time’s the charm, don’t you say? This is supposed to be a wonderful moment. Let’s not taint it with worrying thoughts.”

Her third pregnancy seemed to confirm that Seteth would continually get her pregnant each time they had sex. Whether it was due to her high fertility, his large amount of sperm released, or maybe the strange compatibility between their races, Byleth did not know. This was certainly an issue they would have to deal with for the rest of their marriage. But for now, Byleth was thankful that she could have sex with her husband as often as she desired, for she was already with child and thus there could be no more additional pregnancies from their coupling. 

Time seemed to pass quickly, for before Byleth knew it the new year had began. As the Pegasus Moon was nearing its end, Byleth began to allow herself to feel hope as she was in the middle of her second trimester. Her past babies had never survived this long and the fear always shrouding her began to lift. She gently rubbed her swollen abdomen with adoration as she cooed, “It seems third time was indeed the charm for you, my little one. I’m sorry you couldn’t meet your older siblings, but you will be so very loved.”

Byleth’s improved mood seemed to have an effect on her libido, for later that evening she was absolutely ravenous for husband. She rode him with abandon, uncharacteristically vocal as she moaned loudly with each descent on his throbbing erection. She tossed her head back as she truly let herself go for the first time in _so_ long. 

It seemed that her enthusiasm was having a strong impact on the man below her as he too was becoming more vocal than ever before in their intense fucking. He was gripping her hips hard enough to leave bruises. His emerald locks were all in a disarray from frantically tossing his head back in forth as he was overwhelmed by the pure bliss of his wife’s walls squeezing oh so perfectly around his cock. As much as he wanted to watch his goddess use his body for her pleasure, the sensations her irresistible body caused him were too much, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut as he rode the seemingly never ending waves of euphoria. As he neared his peak, he started lifting his hips to thrust hard into her, quickening their pace into a sort of frenzy.

While Byleth was used to Seteth’s inhuman strength and appreciated his ability to make her see stars whenever he truly let himself go in bed, tonight it seemed to be getting too much for her. She curled forward as she felt intense cramps suddenly, causing her to clutch her stomach. Her moans of pleasure suddenly changed to those of agony.

Seteth was so caught up in his fast approaching orgasm that he hadn’t noticed anything awry until he felt Byleth beating at his chest and begging for him to stop. His eyes popped open in panic as he heard her cries of pain. He immediately sat up to hold her as she rocked back in forth during her sharp pains. 

He tried to remove himself from her but she stopped him, immediately gasping, “Don’t move!”

It was nearly five whole minutes later when the pain subsided. As her labored breathing returned to normal she apologized to Seteth for causing such panic. “I don’t know what that was about, but I’m alright now. I promise I’m okay, you can stop looking at me like I’m about to break.”

“But I hurt you,” whispered Seteth with wide eyes. “This was exactly what I was afraid of when we first became intimate. I let myself get carried away and now look what happened!” 

Byleth immediately hushed him. “I will not let you blame yourself for the best sex we’ve ever had. Like all things, practice makes perfect.”

“But—“

“Seteth, I am _fine_. See? Look...” Byleth removed herself from his now flaccid manhood to show him that she was unscathed, but she stopped suddenly when he let out a startled shout. 

“Oh Goddess, what have I done?!” Seteth cried, immediately scooting himself back away from Byleth. When he had removed himself as far away as he could on their bed and against their headboard, she was able to see what had alarmed him so: his cock was covered in blood.

Byleth let out her own shriek of horror as she looked down at her opening to see even more blood. She doubled over once more as she felt another wave of pain hit her. When that had passed she saw that their bedsheets just below where she kneeled were colored crimson.

“No, no, no...” she whimpered, tears falling from her face to land on the ever growing red stain. She clenched her belly bump, hoping futilely that she didn’t lose her baby again. “Please don’t go! Mommy’s here. It’s okay...”

Watching his wife trying to comfort their now dead child broke Seteth. Choking back a sob, he quickly sprang into action: he wiped himself clean before throwing on a robe. Once he was sure it was tightened around him securely, he swiftly grabbed the bed sheets to wrap Byleth up into a makeshift swaddle before bolting out of the room with her in his arms.

As they descended to the floor below, he started shouting desperately for help, “Manuela! Manuela, I need your assistance now! Please, I need your help!”

A few seconds later he heard a voice on the other side of the infirmary door. “Oh _of course_ you need me right when I’m about to have a much needed drink after a truly awful da—oh my,” her rant suddenly died in her throat at the sight of the usually stern Seteth with tears running down his white face and Byleth unmoving and seemingly in shock wrapped up in his arms. 

Seteth sobbed in the corner the entire time whilst Manuela helped clean and dress Byleth into a sterile gown. “It’s all my fault. I knew I shouldn’t have risked it...this is all my fault,” he wailed. 

“Will you please get ahold of yourself?!” yelled Manuela towards the hysterical man as she handed Byleth some chamomile tea. “Your whining isn’t helping anyone!”

She turned back towards the still blank faced woman in front of her, and tried to coax her to drink some tea as she questioned her, “Your Majesty? What happened to make Seteth think he caused your miscarriage?”

Byleth slowly moved her soulless eyes to meet Manuela’s. “I just happened to have this miscarriage whilst we were in the middle of sex,” she whispered. She closed her eyes briefly before turning to look over at her distraught husband. She continued with a sigh, “He of course didn’t do anything wrong. It was just bad timing.”

“‘Bad timing?’” hiccuped Seteth, outraged. “There’s no need to beat around the bush. I’m obviously no good for you. Time and time again I force you to carry my child and because you naturally can’t handle my implantation, it dies. I should have known this would happen...”

“I don’t know what kind of garbage you ate to spew all this rubbish, but this has to stop,” snapped Manuela. “While there indeed seems to be an issue with Byleth for her body not allowing her to carry a child yet to full term, this is no fault of your own. It’s not anyone’s fault. This is merely nature at play. I can run some tests to see if she is possibly ill with some unknown disease and recommend some contraceptive herbs for the time being. However, I don’t want to hear another self pitying word come out of your mouth, do I make myself clear?”

Seteth clenched his jaw and crossed his arms in defiance, but said nothing further. 

Relieved at the stubborn man’s silence, Manuela addressed Byleth: “Would you like me to do a thorough checkup on you right now? I am quite curious to see what it is that is causing all these miscarriages...”

“No, that is not necessary,” blurted Byleth. No one besides possibly Flayn’s husband, Ferdinand, knew of the nature of the Children of the Goddess and feared that whatever tests Manuela wanted to conduct would reveal too much. 

“Well alright...” said Manuela hesitantly. “I just think that you should let me so I can possibly figure out how to allow you both to have children. Otherwise, I can only recommend contraception to prevent you from constantly getting pregnant every time you two hit the sack. And of course there’s always the ‘pull out’ method if you for whatever reason don’t want to take herbs. I just wouldn’t recommend it since you both seem to be so fertile—“

“I’ll take the herbs, thank you,” said Byleth dismissively. She looked back at Seteth to see him frowning and pinching the bridge of his nose, tear tracks still visible on his face. It hurt to see how much she was disappointing him.

* * *

Seteth kept apologizing the entire way back up to their bedroom. Byleth wasn’t fully paying attention, but she caught a bunch of, “I’m sorry’s,””it won’t happen again’s,” and Byleth’s personal favorites—“I should have known’s.” 

After Seteth closed the door behind him he swiftly caught Byleth’s hands in his, desperately searching her face as he begged, “Please say something. Your silence is torturing me.”

Byleth turned her face away from him. “What is it that you want me to say, Seteth?” she said stiffly.

“Anything!” he said beseechingly, gently grabbing her chin so she’d face him once more. 

“Like maybe that your worries were justified all along? That we shouldn’t be together?” she hissed.

“What are you saying?” gasped Seteth with hurt visible in his dark green eyes. “I only said that when we first began courting and you at the time didn’t know the full extent of my identity.” The hand on her chin rose to cup her cheek as he continued, “I was just scared that you wouldn’t want to be with someone of my race and history. I’m obviously different from every other man and didn’t know if you’d be compatible with me—“

“‘Compatible,’” repeated Byleth with a frown. 

“Yes, and it seems my seed isn’t compatible with your womb. I cannot tell you how sorry I am that we couldn’t figure this out until you were forced to miscarry our child three times. I don’t expect you to forgive me—“

“Well I don’t expect you to forgive me for not being able to give you what you want most, so I guess we’re even,” said Byleth emotionlessly. 

Seteth’s brows furrowed in confusion and stared at her for a few moments. “I...don’t think we are on the same page,” he said uncertainly. 

“No, I think we are finally on the same page for the first time,” said Byleth. She shook away his hand from her face and strode towards her dresser to get changed into her night clothes. She made sure to choose one of darker color in case she bled more during the night. 

The little blood left in Seteth’s face drained away completely. He hesitantly approached behind Byleth and grabbed her shoulders to turn her around to face him. 

She angrily shoved him away from her. “Don’t touch me! I need to rest; doctor’s orders, after all,” she bellowed.

Seteth looked positively affronted at her sudden use of force on him. He continued to look confused as he followed her to bed. He stayed on his side of the bed watching her as she fluffed the pillows to her liking before laying her head down, facing away from him. 

“Byleth, I think there seems to be some sort of misunderstanding between us.” He paused, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement. When he heard none he continued, “My love, it is said that married couples should never go to sleep upset with one another—“

“Your fragile wife that you knew was doomed to fail from the get go is needing her rest. I think you should let her replenish her strength,” Byleth snapped, still facing away from him.

Seteth took a deep breath to gather himself before replying—

But she started rambling before he got the chance. “What’s the point in being forced to have the Progenitor god within me, granting me prolonged life, and the skills to single handedly take down entire armies if I can’t even muster the will to just bring _one_ child into this world,” she croaked.

Seteth opened his mouth again to speak—

Byleth suddenly continued, “Not only do I have to live with the fact that I’ll likely never be able to bear children for the next hundreds or even thousands of years of my life, but you being married to me will also have to accept that your child raising days are over and you get no choice on the matter.” She finally rolled over to face him, her eyes red.

“I’ve seen the way you look at children. And how much you miss Flayn. You want children so badly, and therefore you naturally chose to propose to the one woman who was the closest thing to a Nabatean in hopes that she’d be able to handle bearing your young,” lamented Byleth.

“That’s enough!” said Seteth sharply. “I cannot believe you would think so low of me as to assume that I only wanted to spend the rest of my _very_ long life with you because I thought you were the best candidate to become some...some breeder!”

“You are right. How could you have expected me to bear your children when you apparently had the lowest of expectations the entire time! You ‘should’ve known this would happen,’ you’re ‘no good’ for me, and I ‘naturally couldn’t handle your implantation,’ among all the other crap you said earlier,” spat Byleth.

Seteth closed his eyes in horror, the realization suddenly hitting him. “My love, I did not mean any of that as an insult to you. I was merely bemoaning that _**I**_ had failed you, as a husband and protector,” he explained. He reached towards her in comfort, but then swiftly recoiled as she slapped his hands away. 

“I have already told you not to touch me,” Byleth spat. “Unless you plan for me to ingest these rare contraceptive herbs daily for the next thousand years or so, risking the total extinction of these high in demand plants, I suggest you get used to not being able to fuck me.”

Seteth looked as if he had been slapped in the face as opposed to just his hands. “My wishing to hold the woman I love in my arms doesn’t necessarily equate to wanting to be intimate,” he exclaimed. 

“So you expect us to spend the rest of our marriage, the rest of our entire long existence without making love? That’s unsustainable, Seteth,” she scoffed.

“Well I—“ he stopped himself, for once at a loss for words. “I don’t know,” he finally conceded.

“I’m not just incompatible with your seed, I’m also incompatible with you,” she choked, squeezing her eyes shut to keep in her tears, before rolling back around to face away from her stricken husband.

“You don’t mean that,” whispered Seteth with trembling lips. “We can figure something out. I know we can.”

He was met with silence.

While the contraceptives were needed to be taken on a consistent schedule, he was sure that was manageable for someone as disciplined as his wife. Though that is assuming that they’d even work on her. Seteth had not been interested in telling Manuela that her medicines rarely if ever worked with Byleth’s inhuman metabolism. 

If Byleth couldn’t reliably use contraceptives, then he’d be forcing Byleth to carry his child that was doomed to die every time they had sex. He of course didn’t want that, so that only left abstinence. It seemed to the best and only option for them both, but he knew it would cause them to suffer still. 

Tears fell from Seteth’s emerald eyes as he was faced with the harsh reality: he was incompatible with Byleth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and/or kudos give me life.


	2. Irresistible

Nearly ten years after the traumatizing night of their third miscarriage, Byleth and Seteth received news of Flayn and Ferdinand expecting a baby soon. Byleth had always felt guilty that her step-daughter had wanted to postpone starting a family because of her and Seteth’s previous baby struggles, so their announcement overjoyed her. 

In fact, their news was the best thing to happen to her since finding out a few years ago that Claude had survived the battle of Gronder Field. He had recently been crowned as King of Almyra since then and Byleth was expecting a visit from him soon to negotiate trade between the two countries. Based on how far along Flayn was already in her pregnancy, she suspected that his visit would occur around the same time of her due date. Byleth hoped the two crucial events wouldn’t conflict with each other; since after uniting Fódlan, her next course of action was to improve foreign relations so her meeting with Claude was paramount, but she also wouldn’t miss the birth of her step-grandchild for the world. 

It felt a bit odd knowing that she’d soon be a grandmother, but she knew that Seteth would revel in being a grandfather. She was looking forward to seeing his face glow with jubilation as he held his grandchild in his arms. It just killed her that the only infant he’d get to hold wouldn’t be his own.

They hadn’t been intimate with one another since her last miscarriage and to say it didn’t put a strain on their marriage would be a lie. She still loved him just as much as the day she said, ‘I do,’ and had no doubts of his mutual affection, but she couldn’t help but feel that they were missing an integral part of their relationship. 

They kept themselves very busy with their duties, especially Seteth whom was universally considered a workaholic. Their hectic schedule helped keep their mind off of anything lacking in their personal life, but every once in awhile Byleth couldn’t help but want more. 

The image of Seteth covered in the blood of their failed baby caused a bit of PTSD for the both of them, resulting in them to not crave sexual intimacy for several years. However, after nearly a decade of celibacy, Byleth was at her wits end; and by the looks her husband often gave her, he wasn’t doing much better.

Lately they seemed to accidentally brush against one another each time they passed in the hallways; their touches would linger longer that what was necessary whenever they would pass papers to each other; Seteth would press against her back when leaning over her to point to something on a map. It was all too much and Byleth couldn’t stand it anymore. 

Her last straw was on a particularly hot day midway through the Blue Sea Moon. Despite having all the windows of the Monastery open, every room was stifling. To Byleth, the hottest room seemed to be the Cardinal’s Room where she, Seteth, and a few members of the Knights of Seiros currently held a meeting with Linhardt and Caspar regarding their recent reports of suspicious activity whilst on their travels together. 

She vaguely heard them mention something about bandits, but she couldn’t seem to focus on the potential problems when she was so overwhelmed by the heat of both the summer air...and the intensity of Seteth’s stare. While he seemed to be doing a much better job at paying attention to their guests, his emerald eyes strayed to her far more often than what was considered proper during a supposedly important meeting. With her having most of his attention, she figured she’d have a bit of fun with him.

Making sure that no one but Seteth was paying attention to her (which wasn’t difficult since Linhardt was nodding off and everyone else was focused on Caspar animatedly describing a recent brawl with these pesky bandits), she crossed one leg over the other and slowly trailed a finger up and down her thigh. With her official garb involving a long gown to wear, she showed no bare skin on her legs, but that wouldn’t stop Seteth from being able to imagine what was below the material. Seeing that his eyes were intently following her finger, she slid it high up to where it nearly touched her crotch, held it there for a few seconds before trailing it back down her knee and almost snickered allowed when she heard Seteth let out a deep breath. 

Emboldened by his attention and starting to feel an unquenchable heat within her, she decided to torture him even further. She grabbed the quill that she had in front of her and slowly traced her lips with the feather. Her methods of seduction were poor, but considering that her clothing wasn’t revealing in the least bit and she had too many people in the room to risk much, this was all she could do. When she decided to go a step further by opening her mouth to softly nibble on the end she heard a loud **_Snap!_** from Seteth breaking the quill he was holding into pieces.

Everyone in the room turned to look at the blushing Prime Minister as he quickly wiped off the ink from his hand with a handkerchief. Even Linhardt snapped awake from his nap from the noise. 

Caspar just laughed. “Ha! I knew reenacting that brawl would get someone pumped up! Though I didn’t expect to cause someone to break a pen...” 

Byleth abruptly stood up from her seat. “I suppose this would be a perfect time for me to interrupt, but I had promised the greenhouse keeper that I would look over some new seeds to plant before it got dark. I apologize, I didn’t think this meeting would last as long as it has.” She gestured to her disgruntled husband. “I’m sure Seteth would be more than happy to appoint some knights to patrol the areas most frequented by these bandits and handle everything else in my absence. For now, I must take my leave.”

She took one more heated look at the green haired man seething in his seat before heading towards her bedroom. She had made no such plans at the greenhouse, but she was desperate to relieve the pressure that had been building within her. 

After closing the door behind her, she immediately started removing her clothes as she strode towards the bed. It was so embarrassing for her to feel the need to do this so early in the day, but the sexual tensions with Seteth for the past several weeks in combination of being neglected for nearly a decade pushed her to the point of desperation. 

Byleth breathed a sigh of relief as the felt her back land on the cool bed covers, slightly chilling her fiery skin. She wasn’t sure how long she had before needing to be elsewhere so she quickly went straight to where she needed the most relief. She dipped a finger into her moist center, tossing her head back into the pillow from the intensity of her initial touch. _It really had been too long..._

Already desperate to finish, she added another finger and started plunging the digits in and out at a rapid pace. She imagined it was Seteth’s thick cock thrusting inside of her. Oh how she missed feeling his body within hers. He was the most wonderful lover, and knowing that she had to choose between making love to him or suffering from miscarriages killed her. A decade without the pleasures of his flesh was difficult; she couldn’t fathom going an additional century or millennia in abstinence. While pleasuring herself helped, it would not sustain her.

She moaned aloud when curling her fingers allowed her to hit a most delicious spot, causing her to see fireworks. She was already so close. To finish herself off, she slid her damp fingers up to circle around her clit, involuntarily bucking her hips as she neared her peak.

Just as she was about to go past the point of no return, her bedroom door suddenly sprang open to reveal a particularly irritated Seteth. When his eyes met hers, they both froze: she laid motionless with her fingers still on her throbbing bud and he in the doorway with his hand still on the door handle as he took in the scene before him with an unreadable expression.

Still staring at her, he firmly closed the door behind him. “So, this is where you were in such a rush to get to?” he asked stiffly.

Embarrassed, Byleth immediately removed her fingers from her crotch and moved to grab a sheet to cover herself before Seteth blurted—

“Don’t! Please, for all that is holy, don’t stop,” he choked out, his suddenly wide eyes bored into hers with a level of desperation she had never seen before. 

Shocked at his outburst, she sat motionless in the bed with a hand still on the sheets, debating on whether she should regain her dignity while she still can or continue like her husband seemed to so desperately want. 

“Touch yourself again. I need to see you,” he begged.

When her vagina throbbed with need at his begging, Byleth was reminded of how close she had been to finishing before his interruption and she very much wanted to come undone before her husband for the first time in a long while. Not breaking eye contact with him, she lowered her hand back down to her nether regions and inserted the same two fingers as before inside and started at a moderate pace, not sure how long he wanted this to last.

Seteth let out a deep growl when he realized that she was going to obey him. He leaned back against the door for support, feeling his knees wanting to buckle as he was overwhelmed by his lust for the woman before him. How he managed to survive so long without touching her, he will never know.

“T-touch your breasts for me... _please_ ,” he rasped as he rubbed the very visible bulge within his trousers. He grunted at the friction, already feeling himself racing towards his release.

Byleth let out a whimper as she pinched her nipples, playing with them the way she remembered Seteth used to. The memory fueled her desire even more, prompting her to forgo her fingering to circle back around her clit, unable to hold back a whine of unadulterated lust.

Seteth moaned in return at the sweet noises that escaped from his wife. He quickly unlaced his pants to pull out his leaking member and started stroking at a rapid pace, his eyes never leaving Byleth’s. 

Watching her usually stern husband unravel right before her very eyes was her undoing. While she was very attracted to him, loved his perfectly toned body, and enjoyed how his strength and meticulous touches made her putty in his hands, it was the utterly wrecked look on his face as he neared his orgasm that she loved most during sex. 

They both didn’t have to say anything; the way they both feverishly rubbed themselves, their cries for each other raising in pitch and volume told enough that they were both nearly at their peak.

Likely due to having a head start, Byleth came first. She curled over as euphoric waves assaulted her nerve endings, crying out Seteth’s name so loudly it made her throat raw, not once taking her eyes off him in fear she’d miss his climax.

She didn’t have to wait long, the site of her coming undone was too much for Seteth to handle. Watching her juices squirt out of her as she screamed his name was a site he knew would be burned in his memory forever. His orgasm was so intense that his knees buckled, causing him to crash to the floor as ropes of cum burst from the cock he still stroked. His voice seemed to have failed him as tried to call out for her. All he could do was to stay on his knees as he pulled each pulse of fluid from him until there was a sizable puddle in front of him.

After about a minute of them coming down from their high, panting and sweating from the summer’s heat and their exertion, they locked eyes once more, chuckling awkwardly at what had just transpired.

Byleth was never one to make jokes but when she looked down to see the large mess that Seteth had made, she was struck with inspiration. “And here I thought that I was the one that was supposed to spread some new seeds this afternoon,” she smirked.

Seteth scowled at her and groaned, both from her terrible attempt at a joke and the fact that he had a lot to clean up. 

Byleth shrugged. “At least the rug is white,” she teased.

* * *

Several months later, just as the Wyvern Moon began, Claude von Riegan had arrived for his promised visit. Since the Resistance Army that Byleth led in the war against the Empire didn’t end up joining the fight at Gronder Field, she hadn’t seen him since he was still a student of the officer’s academy nearly a decade and a half ago. As she watched him dismount from his uniquely colored wyvern, she noticed that he had grown into a very handsome man. With the way he was observing her, it seemed he found her just as attractive. 

Over the next fortnight, Byleth spent nearly every waking moment with Claude, whether it was to talk negotiations, giving a tour of various locations around Fódlan that had changed since his departure after Gronder Field, or even just catching up with each other. She hadn’t been particularly close to him during her time as a professor all those years ago since she had chosen to teach the Black Eagle house. However, he was the only one of the three house leaders still alive today so Byleth felt the need to make up for lost time to get acquainted with him, especially since time for a mortal like him was precious. 

Byleth didn’t realize just how preoccupied she had been with Claude since his arrival until one late evening where he was once again trying to pry information from her—specifically about how her and Seteth having managed to not age. She knew that their immortality would cause issues further down the road, but she wasn’t expecting to have to worry about that until a bit later. She seemed to have underestimated Claude’s wit and tenacity. What panicked her most about the conversation wasn’t her having to dodge his questions, but that the fact that him mentioning Seteth triggered a memory: her marrying him on this very same day of the Wyvern Moon 11 years ago.

Byleth had forgotten about their wedding anniversary. 

While her and Seteth’s sex life had improved since their impromptu masturbation session—since they started experimenting on giving each other pleasure without penetration—their marriage still felt a bit stained. Byleth’s insecurity on not being able to provide Seteth with much desired children combined with his self revulsion on not being able to make love to her without planting her with doomed to die offspring made them feel as if they were walking on eggshells throughout their entire marriage. They feared that one wrong move would ruin everything. 

Byleth definitely considered forgetting their anniversary as a wrong move.

Within the hour, Byleth had managed to cook up one of her husband’s favorite dishes, Bourgeois Pike, and brought it to their room. She had originally gone to his office since he usually worked into the late evening, but seeing that the door was locked shut with no light peaking underneath showed that he had decided end work early for the day. 

Which meant he, unlike Byleth, remembered their anniversary. That especially did not make her look good.

Upon entering their bedroom hesitantly with the fish dish, she saw Seteth reclined on their bed, engrossed with the book on his lap. He didn’t acknowledge her upon entry, but the moment she closed the door behind her he looked up at her with a neutral expression and closed his book.

“Happy Anniversary, Seteth,” Byleth said softly.

“I wish you a Happy Anniversary as well,” Seteth simply replied as he placed his book on the nightstand next to the bed and clasped his hands together to place on his lap. Gesturing towards the meal in her hands he asked, “Is that Bourgeois Pike I smell? You shouldn’t have.”

“Of course I should have. Today is a day to show how much I love and appreciate you,” said Byleth as she walked towards the sitting area in the corner to place the dish on the table. 

When he didn’t move from his place, Byleth frowned. She had feared that he’d be hurt by her neglect, but hoped that he’d forgive her. That hope was quickly fading. 

“I know it’s late but you should try at least a few bites,” she persuaded. 

Seteth sighed, but did not argue. He got up from the bed to sit down next to her on the couch and took a bite of the savory fish. 

Byleth watched anxiously as he tried her dish. She knew she wasn’t a bad cook, but the air around them seemed tense and fragile, so she took note of his every movement and expression warily.

When he glanced over to her give her small yet warm smile, she relaxed, letting out a small sigh in relief. 

“This is absolutely delicious, my love. It truly is a divine gift for you to take the time to cook up something like this for me,” Seteth complimented, kissing her on the cheek. “Thank you.”

Byleth leaned on his shoulder and grasped one of his hands in his. “I’m sorry that I didn’t acknowledge this occasion earlier. I’ve just been so preoccupied with—“

“With Claude,” interrupted Seteth sternly. His eyebrows were furrowed in disproval, and his jaw clenched.

Feeling the need to defend herself, Byleth removed herself from his shoulder and firmly explained, “Yes, with Claude. It was paramount for us to finalize our peace treaty and trading negotiations.” She paused, briefly wondering if she should fully speak her mind or hold her tongue. Her tongue won out it seemed since she continued, “And forgive me, but I think I’m allowed to seek pleasant company and have friends. I didn’t know you had to approve even my personal actions.”

“Ah, no, _forgive me_. For I must be lacking greatly indeed for you to have to ‘seek pleasant company,’” Seteth said stiffly. 

“I never took you for the jealous type,” Byleth snapped.

Seteth rolled his eyes at her. “Byleth, I’m not some insecure child that gets jealous over nothing. I just don’t think it’s wise to canoodle with someone who is only interested in digging into things we have kept hidden for good reason.”

“I trust him,” Byleth said firmly with a tone of finality. She was done having this conversation. 

Seteth peered down at her with a frown, looking like he was about to say more before deciding to close his mouth with a sigh. He gently squeezed her hand that was still in his grasp as a sign that he was done arguing as well. 

“Well, since you were kind enough to gift me with this wonderful meal, I suppose I should give you something as well,” Seteth said as he gracefully reached behind them to grab the long, wrapped up package that Byleth hadn’t noticed was behind the couch.

Removing the wrapping revealed one of the swords from Seteth’s personal collection that she had her eye on for awhile. This particular one was very similar in design to Felix’s Wo Dao blade, but this one was slightly smaller and the handle made of silver. Though something about it seemed different, for Byleth had stared at it enough to know every detail of the sword. It wasn’t until the light caught the blade just right that she noticed an engraving in a language she didn’t recognize.

“I had it personally engraved in the ancient language of the Nabateans. It translates to say, ‘Wandering Flame1,’” Seteth explained. “Of course the person who engraved it for me didn’t know what language it was. I just had them copy exactly what I had written down for them.”

“It’s beautiful,” breathed Byleth. “I can never have too many swords, but I’m sorry that your collection is now down a number.”

Seteth waved off her concern, “I have collected countless rare swords over the years and I have plenty more chances to attain more. Besides, you seemed to really covet it and I’m sure you’d provide better use for it than I.”

“I will treasure it always,” smiled Byleth. She leaned over to kiss Seteth. He stiffened for a just moment when her lips touched his, but then he quickly returned her kiss, unable to resist tasting more of her as he tilted his head slightly to get a better angle.

Within seconds their kisses became heated, opening their mouths to allow their tongues to dance with one another. Wanting to get closer still, Byleth moved to straddle Seteth’s lap and was surprised when he didn’t push her away and was further astonished when he instead moved his hands to firmly grab her hips to keep her flush against him. 

Just as she began to feel him start to harden beneath her, he ended their kiss with a sigh, “It’s become very late already. We should turn in for the night.” And with that he gently nudged her to get off his lap so he could head to bed.

Byleth said nothing, but on the inside she was filled with disappointment and frustration. She understood where he was coming from, wanting to stop things before they were past the point of no return, but she couldn’t help but feel unsatisfied.

* * *

Byleth woke the next morning feeling feverish. Not because she was sick, but because she was very aroused from her vivid sex dream. They weren’t a rare occurrence since she was often sexually frustrated from her lack of physical intimacy from Seteth. But this one just seemed extra intense, leaving her literally throbbing with desire, and needing to be filled. 

When she fully gained consciousness, she realized why this dream seemed to affect her so much: Seteth’s very hard cock was gently grinding against her bottom as one of his hands squeezed a full breast. Byleth had noticed over time that he too suffered from wet dreams, but never before did he get handsy with her whilst in the midst of one. 

Knowing he’d be embarrassed from such actions, Byleth gently called his name to wake him up. After a few tries he woke suddenly with a gasp, quickly realizing the predicament he was in: hand on boob and dick pressed into ass. 

“Ah...my apologies. I hope I didn’t wake you,” he mumbled tiredly, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. 

“It’s fine,” Byleth assured, also red in the face as she tried to resist grinding back against him to ease the ache within her vagina that still plagued her. 

With Seteth still not removing his hand or hips from her despite his embarrassment, Byleth decided on a whim to roll her hips against his erection. This caused him to let out a choked groan as he clutched at her more tightly and thrusted his hips against her once more, this time consciously.

“Seteth...” she breathed as she rolled her head back against his shoulder, encouraging him to plant open mouthed kisses along her neck. After about a minute they found a rhythm together, moving their body in sync as if they were dancing. 

“Byleth, I...” he groaned as he slid her nightgown up to her waist, angling his hips so the tip of his erection would rub against the damp material of her underwear. “My love, I need you!”

Byleth could only whimper in response as she felt him reach back to lower his pants to free his weeping cock. She encouraged his actions by moving aside her soaked panties to reveal her glistening folds. When she felt his tip against her vulva, she moaned aloud. _It had been far too long._

“Tell me to stop,” Seteth begged as he adjusted his member to line up perfectly to her center. “Tell me we shouldn’t do this, and I’ll stop.” 

Though even as Byleth heard his pleading for her to end this, she could feel just how much he needed her with the pulsing of his cock against her and the leaking of precum from his swollen tip. Just as she was about to tell him to just take her, she was interrupted by a loud knock on their door. 

“Hey Tea-I mean _Your Majesty_ , you awake?” asked a voice that sounded a lot like Claude von Riegan from the other side of the door. 

Byleth felt Seteth suddenly freeze. He let out a harsh exhale through gritted teeth, growling Claude’s name in frustration before shoving himself away from her and tucked himself back into his pants. 

Once he was presentable, he roughly swung open the door to peer down menacingly at the Almyran king. “Good morning, _Your Majesty_. To what do we owe for this early visit?” Seteth greeted with forced politeness. 

Claude whistled, throwing his hands up in surrender as he placated the obviously irritated man in front of him, “Woah there, Seteth. I can see I interrupted something, but I’ve got important news. A messenger sent from Ferdinand von Aegir very recently arrived to inform you both that Flayn just went into labor and she requires your appearances.”

All the ill will towards Claude immediately vanished from Seteth as his face broke into a glowing grin. He turned towards his wife still in bed, “Byleth! Did you hear?! Flayn is about to have her baby!” he exclaimed giddily. He then turned back to Claude and said, “I apologize for an esteemed guest such as yourself being made into a messenger this morning—we’ll be sure to hold a feast in you honor as a show of thanks—but could you ask one of the knights guarding the wyvern stables to get our mounts ready for our journey?”

“No need for that, I’ll get them ready myself. You know how much I love those creatures,” winked Claude as he quickly set off.

Once Byleth and Seteth finished preparing for their journey they headed towards the stables where Claude was waiting for them. Byleth frowned when she only saw Seteth’s wyvern, Pebbles2, ready for them. “Where’s my ride?” she asked.

Claude looked sheepish as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, when I entered the stables, I saw that yours was a bit preoccupied,” he replied nervously. “It is the Wyvern Moon after all...”

Byleth looked confused for the briefest moment, until comprehension suddenly dawned on her. “I guess we’ll have to use another. Though unfortunately most of the wyvern’s are not here to avoid a mass occurrence like this,” she sighed. “I’d hate to ask you this, Claude, but would you allow me to—“

“I would have been more than willing to let you use my wyvern, however he is the one that is currently busy with yours,” Claude interrupted nervously. 

“Lovely,” said Seteth sardonically. “I suppose this is a way for you to live vicariously through your mount.”

Anger flashed though Claude’s bright green eyes, “I may be a lot of things, but I’m not into bestiality,” he said with a hint of warning in his voice. 

“You know exactly what I mean!” hissed Seteth, stepping close to Claude so they were only mere inches apart. 

“Seteth, that’s enough!” snapped Byleth. “I know you aren’t honestly suggesting that his wyvern mating with mine is allegorical for him sleeping with me, because that would be utterly ridiculous.”

Seteth clenched his jaw angrily, but said nothing. He abruptly spun on his heel, causing his cape to slap against Claude before striding towards Pebbles in a huff. 

“Just a moment, Seteth,” Byleth said as she put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from going any further. “I’m taking the reigns for this journey.”

Surprise crossed Seteth’s face, then confusion. “What is the meaning of this? I have never let anyone take control of Pebbles,” he exclaimed with a frown.

Byleth merely shrugged. “You don’t seem to be in the best mindset at the moment to have control of the reigns. And most importantly, I just want to,” she challenged, tilting her head up to stare resolutely into his emerald eyes. 

Falling prey to her steely determination as usual, he relented, allowing her to get on Pebbles first before he climbed on to sit close behind her.

* * *

The strong current coming in from the north as per usual during this time of year aided their journey as they flew south to Aegir territory. Byleth was relieved that Seteth had reminded her to wear gloves as to not only avoid blisters, but to help shield her from the frigid air. 

Though while her hands were currently safe from discomfort, other body parts were not. She was familiar with the soreness that riding on a saddle for long term would cause for females in their private area, but that was usually negated a bit when being able to shift around. Since Seteth was having to press against her so closely, she was forced close to the front of the saddle that rubbed right against her clit. She had to either suffer the pain from shoving her sensitive area forward, or suffer the embarrassment of getting pleasure off the friction her adjusting caused. 

However, it seemed her constant shuffling not only excited _her_ nether regions. After nearly a full minute of her trying to find the most comfortable position, she began to feel something poking against her lower back. Realizing what it was, she paused momentarily as she felt guilty for causing discomfort to her husband, but then the ache in her womanhood—reminiscent to what she had felt earlier that morning—goaded her to continue her grinding-like movements to tease him further.

Seteth’s hands immediately gripped her hips to stop her. “Byleth,” he croaked into her ear, “you are making this journey more difficult than it has to be.”

Whether it was due to her irritation with his immature jealousy earlier that pushed her to ignore his protests, or maybe her intense arousal that made her desperate for an orgasm, she did not stop moving. Byleth couldn’t stop her hips from dragging forward to rub her clit deliciously against the saddle, and then back to grind against his rapidly growing erection. 

It seemed that Seteth, too, was falling victim to his desire to finish what they started this morning. His protests quickly died in his throat as he subconsciously used his grip on her hips to drag her back against his aching erection. He panted harshly in her ear as he felt himself start to lose control. There was no Claude here to interrupt them. However, there was the fact that they were over a thousand feet in the air riding a trained, but still lethal beast. 

“W-we need to stop,” Seteth stammered, trying to remain responsible in this situation. However, his actions betrayed his words as he ground his hips into her back that he still helped move against him. 

Byleth was so lost in her lust that she didn’t say anything. She could only move faster, chasing a release that she was so wrongfully denied this morning. She knew what they were doing was ridiculous. Their desperate humping like wild animals on a literal wild animal was very unbefitting of two rulers of Fódlan. However, their decade long abstinence from each other pushed them to act on their basic needs, even if it was during the most inconvenient time. 

While her grinding moments did indeed feel wonderful, it wasn’t enough; her carnal instincts called for more. “Seteth!” she moaned as she turned her head to look into his desperate eyes. “I need you so much. Please...”

Seteth groaned as he briefly laid his head on her shoulder to break their intense eye contact, hoping to regain some semblance of logical clarity. When he looked back at her, his eyes were filled with tears of desperation as he cried, “I can’t, Byleth. _We_ can’t!”

Byleth’s hands that were holding the reins tightly began to shake as her sanity descended into non-existence. The rhythm of her hips stuttering as the pleasure from the friction started to become too much for her. Pebbles didn’t seem to like the unsteadiness of its reigns nor the excess movement on its saddle as it turned its head back to screech at them in irritation.

“Please, Seteth!” she hopelessly called out. She didn’t care about where they were or how dangerous this would be. She needed him **now**.

A loud noise escaped from Seteth’s throat as he lifted the black skirt she currently wore above her waist, savagely ripping her laced tights apart to gain access to her soaked undergarment before yanking that aside. 

Byleth gasped as he shoved her forward so he could have room to undo the front of his pants, and then moaned excitedly when she felt his cock spring out against her bottom. 

He pulled her back against his heaving chest, gasping harshly, “whatever happens, do not let go of the reins. I do not want to fall to our deaths because we just couldn’t resist fornicating on Pebbles.” He lifted her up just far enough to line her up above his impatiently waiting erection. “I’m sorry,” he strained before shoving her down to finally join them as one.

Byleth and Seteth both moaned loudly in unison as they completed her descent. They stayed still for a few moments, savoring their union. Byleth readjusted her hold on the reigns whilst Seteth repositioned his strong hands on her waist to gain better leverage to move her over him. 

With a grunt, he quickly lifted her up before slamming her back down, making them both groan again at the perfect friction created between their bodies. 

“Oh, Byleth,” he choked out, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’m not going to last long...”

“It’s okay, neither am I,” she moaned. Within a few quick thrusts, Byleth was already seeing stars. She had at first thought that it would be difficult for her to remain holding on to the reigns, but with how tense she was with the blinding pleasure coursing through her body it was easy for her to keep her grip tight. 

Her and Seteth weren’t particularly vocal people in general, but they seemed to break their trend whilst in the midst of their coupling. This was especially so when they hadn’t had complete intercourse in so long and with no one within hearing distance as they soared through the air, both could afford to get as expressive as they so desired. 

Very quickly it became too much for the both of them. Their bodies begged for their climax as Seteth kept their rhythm at a frantic pace, aided by the slickness of her fluttering vaginal walls. 

“I’m so close,” whimpered Byleth, starting to feel the building pressure in her groin. 

“We should stop! I’m about to come!” warned Seteth. His hold on her waist tightened almost painfully, ignoring his wyvern’s screeches as they jostled the saddle with their extraneous movements. 

“Don’t you dare stop! We need this!” keened Byleth as she tossed her head back, nearing her peak.

Seteth’s head fell forward into her neck, babbling incoherently as he tried to fight off his impending orgasm. His hips started bucking up into her sporadically, his cock twitching. “I can’t...I can’t...” he cried. 

“Please, Seteth. I need to feel you come!”

With her begging him so ardently, he couldn’t hold back anymore. With a roar he fiercely bit down on her neck, his long dormant dragon instincts taking over in his moment of total surrender. His come burst from him once he burrowed inside of her as deep as he could. He let out a harsh grunt against her bleeding neck from each spurt that escaped from him.

She cried out when she felt his sharp teeth pierce her skin, further arousing her. But once the first spurt of ejaculate hit against her cervix, it was all over. Feeling her husband come within in her for the first time in so many years triggered her own release, causing her to literally scream his name to the heavens, further startling Pebbles as he gave a loud shriek in alarm. 

When she finally came down from her high, she noticed a trail of blood falling into her shirt. That’s when the pain of Seteth’s deep bite finally hit her. She tried to stay as still as possible to avoid deepening the wound as he continued to thrust into her during his ongoing orgasm. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay on the wyvern as their love juices (mostly his) poured out of her onto the saddle, making it very slippery. 

As he neared his end, Seteth started to gain full consciousness, the taste of blood snapping him out of his savage act. He cried out when he saw that he left puncture marks into his wife’s neck. Without thinking, he desperately starting to lick her wounds closed, the taste of blood not fazing him. In fact, he was ashamed to admit that the taste of her excited him, elevating the euphoria of his release. It seemed he was just as much a beast as the irate wyvern just below them. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he sobbed as he finally finished ejaculating, wrapping his arms tight around her in comfort. He wasn’t sure what he was ashamed of more: biting a deep wound into his love’s neck due to giving in to his primitive instincts, or going against his better judgment and spilling his seed inside of her which would no doubt force her to eventually carry his spawn that will inevitably perish before birth.

He had never hated himself more than he did now in his entire existence, even more so than when he failed to save his late wife and Cethleann during the War of Heroes.

It seems that despite his best efforts, Seteth couldn’t resist failing those he loved most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ### Footnotes:
> 
> 1\. ‘Wandering Flame’ is Byleth’s end title once completing the Silver Snow (Church) route. Back
> 
> 2\. The name ‘Pebbles’ for Seteth’s wyvern was given by his voice actor when guest appearing on Joe Zieja’s stream of his play through of FE: Three Houses. Back


	3. Inception

As expected, Ferdinand and Flayn’s child—Frederick they named him to keep with the theme of ‘F’ spelling names—was born healthy and was immediately beloved by all who looked upon him. While it was difficult to identify specific features that would distinguish it from a potato like all other newborns (Byleth personally thought), it was apparent that he had inherited Ferdinand’s amber hair and eyes. Though unbeknownst to the general public, Frederick had also inherited his mother’s pointy ears. At present time they were barely noticeable and could easily be hidden by a knit hat or his hair when it grew out more. 

Also expectedly, Byleth found out she was pregnant shortly after.

It was typical for happy couples to celebrate the news of a pregnancy, excitedly preparing for their baby’s arrival for the next several months. However, Byleth and Seteth didn’t have that luxury. Instead, Byleth felt as if she was carrying a terminally ill loved one within her, wanting to cherish the last moments with it, but at the same time struggling to accept what will inevitably occur. 

She also had to watch her husband suffer as well; the usual healthy glow of his skin was absent, instead he looked permanently sickly and the shiny luster of his hair was replaced by dullness. His emerald eyes even lacked their sparkle, making him look constantly soulless. His appearance was very reminiscent to how he looked during the month that Flayn had been missing when Byleth was still a professor at Garreg Mach. She knew he never slept well anymore and that he was overwhelmed by the guilt of impregnating and biting her. 

She was currently rubbing that very bite mark as she gazed at the statue of Saint Cichol. The three-month-old bite honestly didn’t bother her the least bit, but despite her saying so Seteth’s face still crumpled whenever he looked upon the scar he left. She knew it would eventually fade completely like all her other scars since her fusion with Sothis, but the memory of it likely never will. 

Lately she found herself coming to Cichol’s statue at the end of each day. Byleth wasn’t exactly sure why she did; she was obviously married to Cichol himself and could seek guidance from him. However, she hated seeing Seteth in his current state, and she knew that her presence was only a constant reminder of ‘how he failed,’ as he had stated work-for-word. 

Byleth had a feeling that if Seteth hadn’t vowed to always be by her side, even through the greatest of woes, he’d likely exile himself away in shame. She really missed the confident man that she knew and loved. It killed her that they were both only hurting each other throughout their marriage. If there was any remote possibility that either her or Seteth could fall in love again with someone else, she’d give him back his ring and part ways from him. Some may call it cowardice, but she knew that it would be the best for their sanity. However, she knew how deep her and her husband’s love for one another was, so divorcing him wasn’t even within the realm of possibility. 

While still fidgeting with her wedding ring, Byleth looked down at the description that she had read so many times before: 

_’A statue of Saint Cichol, one of the Four Saints. It is said that he was a compassionate yet stern figure whose faith was so true he was able to perform miracles. He is the father of Saint Cethleann.’_

“I figured I might find you here,” said a soft voice from behind her.

Byleth was really starting to lose her edge if she couldn’t sense someone so close behind her, especially her husband. 

“Seteth! I’m sorry to have excused myself so early from dinner. I hope I didn’t offend Flayn or Ferdie...” Byleth apologized.

“Not at all,” replied Seteth. “In fact, they had to excuse themselves as well very shortly after you. Frederick began to fuss and required their attention.”

Byleth smiled. “They are wonderful parents. Ferdinand’s obsessive doting is reminiscent of how you act towards Flayn. I wonder if it’s a Crest of Cichol thing...”

Seteth chuckled at that. It was such a rare sound from him these days that it widened Byleth’s smile even more in response. 

Though his cheerfulness quickly faded back into a pensive frown as he gazed up at his stone visage. “I wonder what it is about my past self that draws your attention as of late,” he pondered. He suddenly looked crestfallen as he turned to look at Byleth. “Is it because you miss the old me of when I was much stronger and capable? I can understand that. I, too, wish I could live up to my past,” he said somberly. 

Byleth gave him a pitying look as she grabbed his hand to hold as she assured him, “Of course not, my love. You are the strongest man I know and you have accomplished so much throughout your entire life.

“It would be much easier for you if you just shut yourself away from the rest of your world like your brothers, or use your influence and power to rule over humanity like Rhea. But you and Flayn chose to stay and help people in any way you can. Do not sell yourself short. I’m not exactly sure why I feel the need to visit your statue so often. It just soothes me for some unexplainable reason.”

Moved by her words, Seteth’s mouth twitched into the slightest smile as he squeezed her hand affectionately. 

“Though I have always meant to ask,” said Byleth with a puzzled look on her face as she glanced back down at the statue description, “but what does it mean that Cichol ‘performed miracles’? Was it just something that was added to embellish his past because he didn’t really accomplish much compared to the other saints, or was it really true?”

Seteth hesitated, pondering carefully over his next words. “It...is a reference to something he had done that would have been impossible for most others.”

“Oh?” prodded Byleth, her interest piqued.

Seteth quickly surveyed their surroundings to make sure they weren’t being eavesdropped on. “I think we should continue this conversation elsewhere,” he murmured, gently pulling on her hand to follow him to the privacy of their bedroom. 

After Seteth ensured that they hadn’t been followed by anyone and closed the door behind him with a lock, he turned to look at his bemused wife. “Do you remember me telling you about my late wife’s passing at the battle at Tailtean Plains where Nemesis was slain?” 

Byleth nodded.

“She wasn’t the only beloved one of mine who perished that day,” Seteth said quietly with a pained expression on his face. 

Byleth looked confused. “I don’t understand. I know that Flayn was put into a very long sleep from the battle, but she didn’t actually _die_. Did you have another child that I don’t know about?”questioned Byleth. 

“Flayn did indeed fall into a deep slumber that day, but only after I used the power of my crest to bring her back to life,” Seteth answered. 

“What?!” said Byeth incredulously. “I wasn’t aware that the Children of the Goddess could bring people back from the dead. Though if that were the case, I have a hard time believing that Rhea didn’t do that for Sothis.”

“I’m not sure if it’s a power that all my brethren possessed. In fact, I’m still not sure how I did it,” said Seteth with a frown as he recalled dark memories from so long ago. “I just remember feeling an indescribable amount of pain as I looked upon the dead bodies of my wife and only daughter. And I remember feeling an overwhelming desperation to bring them back to me, willing to give up everything just to be with them again.”

Seteth strode forward to embrace Byleth as he shakily whispered the rest of his tale. “I held Cethleann’s small, frail body in my arms and begged the Goddess to trade my life for hers. I knew it was foolish—her very corpse was being used as a weapon at that very moment, so of course she couldn’t help me. But all of a sudden, we both became enveloped in a bright green light, the same light that appears when using the power of our crest to transform into our other forms. And...”

Seteth closed his eyes briefly to compose himself as he took few ragged breaths as he was overcome with emotion. When he reopened his emerald eyes, they were filled with tears. However, he was smiling. “And then I began to hear her heart beat and saw her chest rise and fall as she breathed once more. Cethleann was alive again.” 

Byleth’s face was full of shock and wonder as she became enthralled with his tale. But she still had a few questions. “But she still had to sleep for centuries, right? And what of your wife? Is that ability not something you can do again?”

Seteth continued to smile, but this time with a look of sadness. “I barely had enough strength just to breathe life back into her, I couldn’t fully heal her. And with so little crest power left within me, I knew I couldn’t ever do that again, not even for my wife that still laid dead before me. In fact, I used so much of my crest that day that I would never again have the ability to change into my other form again.”

“So that’s why...” breathed Byleth. “I remember you telling me that you had lost your ability to change your appearance, but you never told me how. Why didn’t you just tell me then?”

“Because Flayn was with us at the time and to this day she still doesn’t know that she had actually died and that I sacrificed much of my power to save her. Knowing her, she’d feel guilty that I gave up my other self for her.” Seteth’s hands rose to hold Byleth’s face and gave her a sweet kiss on her soft lips before continuing, “However, I would have sacrificed far more than just losing my other form if it meant I could save the ones I love.”

“Remarkable,” murmured Byleth. “So Cichol really was a miracle worker. Though it is unfortunate that you wouldn’t be able to perform another miracle. Our baby would definitely benefit from such a blessing,” she said sadly, rubbing her swollen belly. 

Seteth froze suddenly, his expression unreadable as he stared at Byleth’s abdomen that she continued to rub. _Could it be possible...?_

“Seteth?” questioned Byleth as her husband lowered himself to kneel before her, laying his large hands on the baby bump to caress it. 

Seteth looked up at her with a nearly crazed look in his eyes, his lips trembling as he gasped, “How foolish of me to not have thought of this before! I have given very small blessings—miracles, if you’d rather call it that—to devote believers in the past who had come to the church for aid.” Seteth looked back down at their growing child before him, leaning his head forward to nuzzle against it as he continued, “They were never large scale blessings. I’ve healed a child sick with a fever, caused a withered crop to turn green again, things of that nature.” 

He looked up once more to to gaze beseechingly into Byleth’s mint green eyes, wordlessly begging for forgiveness. “How typical of me to provide wisdom and guidance to everyone except for those I’m closest to. Perhaps...perhaps I could try blessing our child to healthily develop until birth.”

“Do you think it could work?” gasped Byleth, tears filling her eyes as she allowed herself to feel hope for the first time in so long.

“I’m not sure. I...I don’t want to get too excited at the possibility, for if this doesn’t work it will only hurt more,” Seteth said hesitantly. “But I certainly feel it is worth a try. We owe our child at least a chance.”

Byleth nodded her agreement as she watched Seteth with wide eyes.

Seteth took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his brows furrowed in concentration. He began chanting his ancient language softly as he ran his hands over Byleth’s abdomen. Nothing happened during the first thirty seconds. Seteth then chanted louder and more impassioned, his hands shaking. Not long after, a green glow appeared around his hands.

Byleth gasped in excitement at the sight of the bright, verdant light. She then began to feel a pleasant warmth radiating from his hands into her skin. 

Beads of sweat ran down the side of Seteth’s face as his benedictions started to sound out of breath, his hands shaking harder than ever. But he kept going, not stopping until he was done.

After what felt like an eternity, the green light suddenly flashed brightly, illuminating the entire room before fading into a dim glow, then dissipating completely. 

Seteth dropped his hands and collapsed forward against Byleth, panting harshly from exertion. He then looked back up at his wife, his eyes hopeful. “How do you feel, my love?”

Byleth couldn’t explain it, but she seemed to feel healthier, more vibrant. She didn’t understand why, but she had no doubts that Saint Cichol just performed another miracle.

“Never better,” beamed Byleth as she gazed adoringly at her miracle man, caressing his cheek lovingly. “I’m ready to become a mother.”

Seteth’s eyes drooped to half mast, his smile lazy as he murmured, “That’s wonderful to hear, my love. I’m also ready...to become...a....”

Seteth suddenly fell backwards, his green eyes closing completely.

“Seteth?!” exclaimed Byleth as she quickly caught him before he crashed to the floor. “Seteth! Are you alright?!”

He didn’t answer as he became limp in her arms, his smile slowly fading into neutrality. 

Panicked, Byleth put her ear against his chest, listening for a heartbeat. She let out a loud sigh of relief when she heard a slow but strong beat.

“My love,” she whispered, gently shaking him to get some sort of reaction.

No movement. Complete silence. 

She knew he wasn’t dead. She immediately figured out that he had used too much of his crest and was now put into a deep sleep to recover. But it still didn’t stop the tears from flowing and falling onto his chest, still rising and falling from his steady breathes.

“My love, please wake up. I don’t want to do this alone,” Byleth cried . She held him tighter in her arms, openly weeping loud enough for her sounds to echo in the too quiet room. 

She should have anticipated that this would happen. She should have known that there would be a consequence to his blessing. If she had even considered that this would be the result of his actions, Byleth would have never allowed him to do this. She did not want to sacrifice him for their child, no matter how much she wanted to be a mother. She wanted to be a parent _with_ Seteth. And now she felt even more disheartened than before. 

It was impossible to guess how long he’d be comatose. But Byleth knew one thing:

She was going to have to carry their child alone.

* * *

**Pegasus Moon**

No one outside of the highest officials and closest friends knew of Seteth’s absence. And those that did know were merely told that he was on a long extended leave.

It was a struggle to wake up every morning with Seteth lying still next to her on the bed. She’d dream that the next morning would be the day that he’d come back to her, and was therefore disheartened daily when he was just as asleep as before. 

Byleth couldn’t comprehend how Seteth had dealt with Flayn being in this state for literally centuries. It had only been a few weeks and she was already heartsick without him. 

What motivated Byleth was the rapidly growing child within her. She knew that she needed to keep her stress levels under control as to not risk harming her baby. She was blessed with having Flayn and Ferdinand around to help her with everything—personal and work related—since the day of Seteth’s sudden slumber.  
And seeing Frederick growing up so beautifully reminded her of what Seteth’s sacrifice was for.

* * *

**Lone Moon**

Byleth began to feel her baby moving within her.

The first time she felt her child’s movement was the late evening of Saint Indech Day. At the time she had been signing forms to give approval to building on ‘sacred lands’ throughout Fódlan. As she dipped her quill in ink, she felt a sudden kick in her abdomen, causing her to flinch and thus spilling her ink everywhere.

Despite the mess invalidating nearly two hours worth of work, Byleth couldn’t stifle the wide grin crossing her face. She knew prior that Seteth was successful with his miracle, but literally feeling life within her fully confirmed it and made her good fortune feel more real.

* * *

**Great Tree Moon**

Byleth was fortunately past her puking-every-morning phase. But now she was suffering from odd cravings. 

Her most prevalent obsession was fish; any type cooked in any way. Even Flayn was impressed by the sheer amount of seafood she ingested per day. Byleth had thought that the fish obsession was just a quirk of Flayn’s, and Seteth’s enjoyment of it was a result of his fishing hobby and having to cook seafood for his daughter. But seeing that she was now craving the aquatic creatures so much, it might possibly be a Nabatean thing.

* * *

**Harpstring Moon**

Byleth had finally reached her third trimester for the very first time. Hitting this milestone in her life was bittersweet. Obviously she was ecstatic to have her baby survive this long, but she mourned for her husband not being able to experience this victory.

* * *

**Garland Moon**

Byleth’s fish cravings had escalated to the point of wanting to eat them raw, much to the horror of her chefs. Even Flayn looked scandalized when Byleth took the fish she had reeled in right off the hook and took a huge bite as it still wriggled with life.

* * *

**Blue Sea Moon**

Byleth was now nine months pregnant. Her belly was very swollen by this point and made nearly every task, even the simplest ones, a chore. 

While she was very much looking forward to meeting her child, she also dreaded giving birth and seeing them for the first time without Seteth. It broke her heart that with all the effort he had put in to bring their baby into the world he’d miss out on their first days, maybe even weeks, months, years... _decades_. 

Byleth blinked away her tears. She was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Fódlan. And above that, she was the fiercest warrior and could handle anything that came her way. There was no time or place to despair, not when she had so many people to watch over, more than just her soon arriving baby.

* * *

**Verdant Rain Moon**

Byleth was now ten months pregnant. 

While she had expected to have gone into labor by now, Byleth knew that not all babies were delivered during the typical thirty-seven to forty-two weeks. She didn’t mind her child being a late bloomer. She could wait. She would be patient.

* * *

**Horsebow Moon**

Byleth was now eleven months pregnant. This was not normal and she was now very concerned. 

On the very first day of the Horsebow Moon, Byleth cleared her schedule so she could get to the bottom of this. 

Considering that Flayn was not only masterful in healing magic, but also conveniently knowledgeable about Nabatean biology (since she was one), her stepdaughter was the one she sought out. 

When questioning her of whether her lengthy pregnancy was supposed to last this long or not, Flayn looked shocked.

“Oh my!” gasped Flayn as she covered her mouth with her hands in horror. “Did my father not tell you? Oh of course he would not have, he fell into his sleep before he could. I am so sincerely sorry for not telling you. I have failed as a daughter...”

“Don’t say such things. You have not failed me,” assured Byleth, gently placing a hand on Flayn’s shoulder for comfort. “Though I must ask you to tell me what it is that you seem to be alluding to. What did your father not tell me?”

Flayn wrung her hands in worry, guilt still visible on her face. “Well...it is not a human that you and father created. So naturally your birthing process would not be the same as other humans. My sibling is likely needing to have extra time to develop certain body parts that humans do not possess,” explained Flayn.

Byleth let out a deep exhale as she mulled over this new information. “That...makes sense. But do you happen to know how much longer I’ll be pregnant?” she asked.

“From the stories I recall my mother sharing about the days she carried me, it was over a year,” said Flayn, frowning in concentration as she tried to recall memories from centuries ago. Her current expression was so reminiscent of Seteth’s whenever he was intensely focusing on something, that it made Byleth’s heart ache.

“I am sure she mentioned experiencing five seasons whilst pregnant. I do not know if it was five complete seasons—making the entire process fifteen months—or since I was born in the middle of summer, she just counted that incomplete season as the fifth one and was only pregnant for about thirteen months,” Flayn recalled. 

“Alright...” said Byleth slowly. “So we are looking at this baby being due no earlier then the Red Wolf Moon, but no later than the Guardian Moon?”

“That is exactly what I am thinking,” affirmed Flayn. “I am so very sorry to not have a more precise due date for you.” 

“You do not need to apologize, Flayn. You’ve been an amazing help,” smiled Byleth. “I am actually almost relieved that I get to carry this little one a bit longer. It gives Seteth more time to wake up before it’s due.”

“Ah, I see,” said Flayn sadly, not looking at Byleth.

She stared at Flayn for a few seconds, comprehension slowly dawning on Byleth as she observed her stepdaughter’s guilty look. 

“You don’t think Seteth is going to wake up any time soon, do you?” Byleth asked dejectedly. 

Flayn suddenly turned back to look at Byleth, her green eyes wide as she desperately tried to console her new mother, “Oh please do not lose hope because of me! It is impossible to predict how long these deep slumbers last, so there is no place for my doubt.”

Byleth smiled in an attempt to pacify Flayn, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I understand where you’re coming from. I know that you slept for several centuries so the chance of your father sleeping for barely over a single year is quite slim.”

* * *

**Wyvern Moon**

Byleth woke up one morning to the feeling of someone touching her cheek. She jolted awake, ready to attack whoever it was who dared to lay their hands on her to see that it was Seteth caressing her.

“Happy Anniversary, my love,” he whispered fondly.

“Seteth!” Byleth gasped with tears in her eyes. She threw her arms around her husband to wrap him in the tightest of embraces. “I can’t believe you’re awake! I’ve missed you so terribly.”

“I know,” he whispered into her hair as he held her just as tightly. “But I am here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Byleth loosened her hold to gaze adoringly at him before pulling him into a passionate kiss, pouring all the deep emotions she kept bottled up in his absence into the kiss.

Seteth moaned when she quickly pushed her tongue into his mouth and reciprocated her passion by snaking his hands beneath her nightgown to fondle her breasts. 

Byleth mewled in pleasure from his touches, pulling away from their intense kissing to remove his clothing. However, she noticed that he was already completely naked, his cock jutting out and begging for attention. She wasn’t sure how he managed to get undressed already, but she wasn’t complaining as she felt her vagina walls clench with need. 

“I need you,” Seteth groaned harshly in her ear as he inserted a couple fingers inside of her to feel her wetness. “Ughhh...you’re always so wet for me, my love. I can’t wait to shove my hard cock inside of you so deeply that our baby feels it!”

His words took Byleth by surprise, for Seteth wasn’t usually one for dirty talk. However, she didn’t pay much attention to his break in character, for she so very much wanted to worship his body and be worshipped by him. 

Though just as he was about to enter her, he yelled in alarm as he raised the hand that had been inside of her: covered in blood. 

“No, no this can’t be happening!” cried Byleth in outrage. “You made sure this wouldn’t happen!”

“I guess my waking up hurt our baby,” said Seteth remorsefully. “It seems that one cannot live while the other survives...”

Before Byleth could remark about how utterly ridiculous he sounded, she shrieked in horror and disgust as Seteth suddenly punched a hole into his chest.

“Here,” he choked out, blood gurgled from his mouth as he held out his still beating heart in his hand to her. “This should be sufficient to give life back to our baby. This will be the final blessing of Saint Cichol!”

Byleth heard herself cry aloud as she suddenly woke from her nightmare, gasping for breath as she tried to rid the last few minutes from her mind. 

She ripped the covers off of her to see that she was still very much pregnant with no bloodstains in sight. 

She then quickly turned her head and sighed in relief as she saw that Seteth was still asleep: fully dressed and without a hole in his chest.

While she was very much thankful that those horrible images were merely part of a dream, she couldn’t help but still feel disappointment that her husband continued to sleep. 

“Happy Anniversary, my love,” she whispered to Seteth before placing a chaste kiss on his cold lips.

* * *

**Red Wolf Moon**

According to Flayn, the baby would be due very soon, possibly within the next month. 

Seteth still didn’t look any closer to waking up than he did several months ago. Byleth was now fully accepting that she’d be delivering their child without him. 

Though Byleth couldn’t put off thinking up names for their child any longer. She had retained some hope that Seteth would wake up in time to help her figure out possible baby names for both sexes, but much to her chagrin she was nearly out of time. She was quite awful at coming up with names, however she had always been drawn to names that started with the letter ‘L’...

* * *

**Ethereal Moon**

Byleth had never felt much sensitivity to extreme temperatures, however whilst she had been pregnant this past year she quickly overheated during the hotter months and now in the midst of winter she was constantly shivering. With her massive belly in combination with all the layers of wool and fur to keep her warm, Byleth was sure she made quite a humorous sight.

With it now already being late into the Ethereal Moon, Byleth knew that she could be going into labor any moment so she made sure that all possible preparations for the baby’s arrival and her absence were completed. 

While Byleth had originally intended for Manuela to be the one to deliver the baby, she also knew that the physician had been making preparations during the past couple years to retire. Considering that Byleth’s pregnancy had gone on much longer than anticipated, Manuela’s retirement had also inadvertently been pushed back. Still not knowing exactly when the baby would arrive, Byleth felt guilty making Manuela wait indefinitely so she finally officially relieved her of her duty on the 25th, using the festivities of Garreg Mach Establishment Day to celebrate her retirement. 

In Manuela’s absence, Flayn volunteered to deliver the baby. Byleth thought it would be most advantageous for her stepdaughter to help her with the labor with the obvious fact that she trusted her, was extremely skilled in medical/healing magic, and Flayn was also Nabatean and would thus not cause a stir when possibly seeing pointed ears on the newborn. 

The festivities celebrating the monastery’s inception lasted until the late night. As Byleth made her way down the quiet, dark halls to her room, her mind wandered to sentimentality. As of ten minutes ago, it was now the 26th of the Ethereal Moon, the 20th anniversary of her father’s death. While it had been two decades now, the anniversary of Jeralt’s death was still the most difficult day of the year for her. She could always count on loved ones to console her and help honor his memory, but it was always mainly Seteth who did so. 

On top of today being Jeralt’s death anniversary, the very next day would be Seteth’s birthday. Byleth hated that Seteth would not only be unable to be the pillar of support on her most difficult day, but he’d also miss out on his birthday. While Byleth didn’t know his exact age (for Seteth himself had lost count many years ago), she knew that this would be the very first birthday of his that he wouldn’t be conscious during. Birthdays were a day to celebrate another year of life, but since Seteth had been comatose for most of the year, Byleth didn’t think his birthday should hardly count this time. 

Just as Byleth reached her bedroom and placed her hand on the doorknob, she suddenly heard the sound of water dripping nearby. Very close by. 

When she turned her body around to search for what caused the noise she nearly slipped, not releasing before that there was a puddle right underneath her. 

Her water had broken!

Letting out a shaky breath of excitement and anxiety, Byleth waddled down the hall to Flayn’s current sleeping chambers. It seemed that Flayn was still awake since Byleth heard footsteps within seconds of knocking. 

“It’s time,” Byleth said without preamble as soon as Flayn opened the door.

“Oh wonderful!” squealed Flayn as she jumped up and down in jubilation. But just as quickly as her excitement had came, her expression smoothed to one of seriousness as she got down to business: “Do you need any assistance to the infirmary?” 

“I’ll manage, I’m not feeling any pains yet,” assured Byleth, already making her way towards the staircase to head to the infirmary. 

It wouldn’t be until over twenty hours worth of contractions that Flayn announced that Byleth was now ready to start pushing. By this point in time Byleth was already in a lot of pain, sweating profusely as she focused on bringing her baby into the world.

Byleth had hoped that once she started pushing, she’d see her newborn within a few minutes. But of course, as typical as it has seemed to be for Byleth in regards to bearing children, luck would not be on her side. She had to endure hearing Flayn yell, ‘PUSH!’ for over two hours. Apparently even with being inside of her mother for fourteen months, the baby didn’t seem to want to come out just yet. 

“Mother, I see the head! You are almost done! Keep going! One more big push! PUSH!” urged Flayn.

Byleth grit her teeth, using up the last of her strength as she pushed one final time, unable to keep herself from screaming aloud from the pain and exertion.

A few moments later, she heard loud, high-pitched wails from below. At that sound, Byleth finally relaxed back into the pillows and felt herself cry from relief. She had finally done it.

“Oh mother, she is beautiful! I have always wanted a little sister,” cried Flayn as she held the bloody newborn in her arms.

“It’s a girl?! That’s wonderful! Your father would be thrilled right now,” choked Byleth as she was overcome with emotion. “Let me hold her, Flayn.”

“Not quite yet! She needs to be cleaned. But do not worry, I will be quick,” assured Flayn as she rushed out of the room with her new sister.

Byleth sighed in frustration. She had never felt so impatient in her life. She looked over at the clock on the nightstand nearby and saw that the time was 11:55 pm. How poetic that her first child would be born on the anniversary of her father’s death. While Byleth figured that it would be ridiculous to think this way, she felt as if this was her father’s spirit trying to make his death day into a happy occasion. And it certainly worked; it would now be impossible for Byleth to mourn on the 26th of the Ethereal Moon now that it would be her daughter’s birthday. 

After what felt like an eternity, Byleth heard the infirmary door open back up. While she could hear footsteps, she no longer heard her baby’s cries. 

“I remember reading in my father’s diary that I didn’t cry when I was born,” Byleth mused. “While that obviously wasn’t the case for my daughter when she came out, it seems she inherited my silence. Or maybe you’re just that good with babies, Flayn.”

“While Flayn is an indeed a wonderful mother, it just might be because I’m a well-practiced father,” said a voice that was much deeper than Byleth had expected to hear.

Recognizing that voice but not daring to believe it, Byleth bolted up into a sitting position to look upon the man who had entered the room:

Her husband, Seteth, with their daughter bundled up in his arms. 

Byleth was speechless as she was overcome with elation and shock. She could only watch as Seteth approached the bed, her eyes staring straight into his glittering emerald ones for the first time in what felt like forever.

“She’s beautiful,” choked Seteth, his eyes watering as he gazed down adoringly at their baby. “Just like you, my love.”

Byleth looked down on their daughter, and took in her beauty. The little fuzz of hair at the top of her small head was a shade of green that was darker than her’s, but lighter than Seteth’s. Her eyes, however, were exactly like her father’s. Her most noticeable feature was the pair of small, pointy ears, much more obviously pronounced than Frederick’s. Byleth knew that those ears were going to be a struggle to hide from the public. 

“She is indeed beautiful,” whispered Byleth affectionately. “But she looks even more like you, so you should take some credit.” 

Seteth only smiled in response as he sat down next to Byleth on the bed so they could both hold their daughter together. He placed a kiss at the top of Byleth’s head before giving a similar kiss to their baby. He then placed his head against Byleth’s contentedly. 

“I’m so sorry that I had to leave you,” he whispered remorsefully. “You must have been terrified carrying our baby all by yourself for so long, having no idea of what you were getting yourself into. You are so brave, my love. I absolutely don’t deserve you.”

“We both deserve a long, happy life together with our beautiful daughter,” Byleth softly retorted as she gently caressed their little bundle of joy.

“Yes, we do indeed,” he agreed, snuggling closer to his wife so they could all nap together for the first time with the baby. “I cannot think of a better birthday gift than the inception of our child. I cannot imagine a greater happiness than this moment.”

The door suddenly opened once more as Flayn entered the infirmary. Her round green eyes took in the scene before her with a wide grin. “You all make such a wonderful sight. If only Ignatz was here right now, he would paint the most lovely painting of you three together,” she gushed.

“Perhaps, but it would be incomplete without you, my dear Cethleann,” said Seteth warmly, gesturing for her to come join them.

Byleth looked around at the Nabateans before her. Twenty years ago she would not have been able to imagine a family outside of her father, let alone with such loving people that had lived so long before her. 

The four really did make a wonderful sight: all their hair a different shade of green, but all with a similar look over utter contentment as they basked in each other’s embrace. This was the inception of a new age for them that they would all look forward to living together.


	4. Epilogue: Raising a Nabatean

**Blue Sea Moon, Imperial Year 1212**

“Lorelei! Get down here this instant!”

Byleth looked up to scene above her: her husband on his wyvern chasing their eldest daughter whom was currently in her dragon form and doing her upmost to fly away from her father. 

Around the time of her tenth birthday, Lorelei had started having dreams about transforming into a dragon. A few months later, with the guidance of Seteth, she was finally able to shift out of her human form for the first time. After a year of relentless practice, Lorelei had finally mastered her transformations, allowing Seteth to feel that it was finally safe to train her on how to properly fly. 

However, by the amount of shouting she was hearing from her husband, Byleth figured that their training wasn’t going well. That honestly didn’t surprise her in the slightest; since she was very young, Lorelei had shown to be very stubborn and headstrong, resisting Seteth’s overprotectiveness at every turn. 

What disappointed Seteth even more was her disinterest in learning the art of fighting with a spear and axe, preferring to solely use magic. Byleth managed to convince her to study other things besides reason and black magic, so Lorelei agreed to learn how to use a weapon, but it was the sword she had chosen. At that choice, Seteth had grumbled something about her being just like his least favorite brother, Macuil. Once Lorelei manages to master flying, they would make plans to have her visit her uncle for a summer to learn about the sword and black magic from him since he was so skilled in both. 

“Lorelei Eisner! If you fly towards those mountains again you will suffer my greatest displeasure!” Byleth heard an irate Seteth shout. 

She sighed as she looked back down into the water she was currently fishing in. _Trying_ to fish. Her fishing prowess was currently being outmatched by the shouting above her and the 4-year-old twins that were splashing nearby as they looked for tadpoles. As much as she would like to catch just one fish, Flayn and Ferdinand’s youngest children, named Fiona and Flynn, were the sweetest babies she had ever laid her eyes on, and she wouldn’t stop their innocent playing for anything. 

Though honestly it wasn’t just them two that were sweet. Both their older brothers, 9-year-old Faris and 12-year-old Frederick were textbook gentlemen. All four of the Aegir children had amber colored hair and eyes like their father, but had slightly pointed ears like their mother. Just like their parents, they were the kindest of souls and tried to help anyone they felt were in need. 

Since their current stay with the grandparents at their getaway cottage in the Teutates Mountains whilst their parents were on their 25th anniversary trip, all four of them would help with the simple chores like dusting and washing dishes—which Byleth greatly appreciated since she was currently twelve months pregnant with her third child. 

Byleth wished that her two daughters were half as helpful as their nephews and niece. While Byleth would never say it to Seteth’s face, she felt that their spoiled behavior was due to their father’s never-ending doting. She definitely wouldn’t go as far as calling them brats, for they were both still kind and well-mannered. However, they were also a bit prissy, always wanting the latest fashions (which Seteth always hastened to provide) and preferring to keep to themselves and focus on their hobbies than to be the ‘noblest of nobles’ like the Aegirs. 

But Byleth supposed her daughters couldn’t really help it, they were princesses after all. And even if Seteth didn’t bend to their every whim, Byleth was sure that everyone else in Fódlan would have the highest expectations for her daughters. With the addition of having the extra responsibility of hiding their Nabatean secrets whilst in the public eye, being pampered in return wasn’t the worst thing that Seteth could do. 

Ignoring the disobedience from her eldest in the sky above her, Byleth turned her head to watch her youngest daughter, Lisbeth. The 7-year-old was currently playing with Faris; their preferred game lately was to play knights vs dragons. Ever since Lorelei had learned to change into her other form, Lisbeth had dreamed of doing the same, and often pretended to be a fierce dragon whilst Faris would pretend to be a daring knight slaying said dragon. Lisbeth’s playtime with Faris was the only time Byleth ever saw her get sweaty and dirty. Her normally immaculately styled, jade-colored hair that usually covered her long, pointed ears was tangled with twigs as she wrestled with the young knight. 

Just past them, sitting in the shade provided by the cottage’s front porch was Frederick, once again having his head in his encyclopedia of all the different types of spears. Like both of his parents and grandfather, he was skillful with the lance, even at his young age. While the concept of nobility and knights was decaying in Fódlan, he still had an interest of becoming a capable paladin fighter.

It warmed Byleth’s non-beating heart to have all her grandchildren and children here together, which was a very rare occurrence due to everyone’s busy schedules. She knew that her and Seteth’s children would live a long time along with Flayn, but time was fading fast with Ferdinand with him already at the age of fifty. And with his and Flayn’s children being an even mix of human and Nabatean blood, it was difficult to say how long she’d have with her grandchildren. She would have to treasure every moment like this.

Byleth’s reverie was broken once again by her husband’s furious instructions: “You are diving too steeply! Pull up! Spread your wings to catch the wind!”

A few seconds later, a large figure crashed into the middle of the pond, causing a great wave to splash over Byleth and the twins. After checking to see if her youngest grandchildren were alright, which they were based on their giggling and their gleeful yells of asking for more waves, Byleth chuckled herself. She then watched Seteth and Pebbles land a few feet from her to glare out into the pond where Lorelei broke back up through the surface, her large, black-feathered wings shaking off the excess water. 

“I hope you feel really foolish right now,” rebuked Seteth as Lorelei transformed back into her human form and waded to the bank.

She tossed her long, olive-colored hair over her shoulder as she sassily sauntered past her seething father. “Why would I feel foolish? It’s hot outside and I needed to cool off, hence diving into the water,” Lorelei riposted.

Seteth deflated into resignation, merely shaking his head and sighed in response. He was extremely frustrated with his headstrong first-born, but was also unable to stay angry at her for more than a few minutes. His daughters really did have him wrapped around their fingers.

* * *

Later that evening, the children were all sitting on the thick rug in front of the fireplace(that was not in use due to the high summer temperatures), huddled around the armchair that Seteth sat on as they listened to his newest fable with rapt attention. Byleth sat at the dining table nearby, polishing her weapons as she also listened in on the fable that Seteth had apparently come up with earlier that day.

“Once upon a time, high on top of a coniferous tree by the sea, there lived a mother albatross and her nest of newly hatched chicks,” Seteth dramatically began, making eye contact with each of the children to make sure they were paying attention.

“Every morning, the mother albatross would fly below to the ocean to find food for her young. And each morning after their mother left, one of her young would try to adventure outside of the nest.

“The mother albatross would always come back in time to stop the youngling from straying too far. She would advise them daily that it was not yet safe for them to venture out alone, that they were not ready to fly so soon.

“But despite their mother’s warnings, the curious young albatross would leave the nest every morning after she left, getting further and further away from its home and then the mother would stop them before they got too far. She would once again say that it was too early for them to leave the nest and that it would take some time for their wings to grow strong enough to fly on their own.”

“I see where this is going,” Lorelei grumbled under her breath, folding her arms in disapproval.

Seteth gave her a withering look at her interruption and continued, “but the young albatross did not listen. Despite its sibling’s protests, the curious young albatross walked to the very edge of the tree branch that their nest resided, the farthest it had ever traveled. The cool, sea breeze felt wonderful to its developing feathers and wanted to spread its small winds and fly.

“The curious young albatross couldn’t resist the allure of the sea breeze any longer. It spread its baby wings and jumped off the tree branch, letting the wind current carry them out towards the ocean. The young albatross was elated to see the ocean so close for itself, but it got scared when it flew towards the sea faster and further out than they wanted.”

“Oh no!” squealed Fiona, huddling closer to Flynn in fear. 

“The mother albatross was just on her way back to the nest with food when she saw her overly curious youngling fall towards the sea. As fast as she flew, she could not stop the young albatross from plummeting to its death, crashing into the icy water and out of sight.”

“This story is dark,” whispered Faris as he listened to the fable with bated breath. 

“The mother albatross was heartbroken from the loss of one of her babies. Because of her deep mourning, she didn’t lay another egg for the rest of her long years. And so it is, to this very day, that albatrosses would lay so few eggs throughout their lifetime despite having among the longest lifespans of birds.”

Once Seteth finished, all the children clapped their approval of his tale...except Lorelei.

“I’m disappointed in this one. I would say it was your worst fairytale yet,” she complained, speaking over Lisbeth’s gleeful yells of, ‘read us another! Another!’

“I personally thought it was a very fitting tale,” Frederick disagreed. “The long lifespans, living by the sea, and wanting to fly away despite the parent’s warnings...”

“Whatever!” hissed the eldest girl, dramatically turning on her heel and stomped away to her room. 

* * *

Shortly after the fable reading, Byleth and Seteth put the children to bed for the night and retired to their own bed chambers. 

“Was that specific fable really necessary? I feel you should have just scolded Lorelei outright instead of being passive aggressive,” said Byleth, struggling to change into her maternity nightgown. 

Seeing his wife’s struggle, Seteth hastened to help her as he replied, “Did you not hear me earlier? I did plenty of scolding, but they fell on deaf ears.”

Byleth thanked Seteth’s assistance by kissing him on the cheek before getting into bed. “I heard a little bit of criticism, but I felt that you gave up too quickly.”

“I just don’t know what to do with that girl. I know she has and always will exemplify strong independence, but to be so insubordinate like she has been with her flight training...” Seteth sighed as he slid underneath the bed covers next to his wife and stared up at the ceiling.

“I wonder if her love for flight has anything to do with the fact that she was conceived whilst we were flying,” Byleth wryly suggested. 

Seteth threw an arm over his face and groaned. “Of course my brief lack of judgment would come back to haunt me.”

“Well without _our_ lack of judgment that day, Lorelei wouldn’t be here so I would consider that more a blessing than a haunting,” said Byleth, gently caressing her very swollen abdomen.

Seteth smiled, “I cannot deny your reasoning. And speaking of blessings, I’m relieved to see that my original blessing on you all those years ago has lasted long enough for you to safely carry a third child.” 

“I’ve actually been thinking about that,” said Byleth with a pensive expression. “I wonder if I’ve been able to avoid a miscarriage since that day because of the lasting strength of your miracle, or because my body naturally adjusted to carrying your future children after I managed to deliver one.”

“That...is an interesting theory. That very well may be the reason,” said Seteth thoughtfully. He the then curled closer to Byleth so he could nuzzle against her large belly. “However, for once I do not care to overthink this. I would much rather bask in our pregnancy glow.”

Byleth smiled as she contentedly watched her husband shower her stomach with chaste kisses, cooing at their growing baby. She had missed out on his sweet doting during her pregnancy with Lorelei since he had been in a deep slumber. And while Lisbeth ended up being successfully brought into the world, both her and Seteth still had some anxiety throughout her pregnancy, unsure of whether Lorelei’s birth was a fluke or not. This was the first pregnancy that they both got to truly enjoy together, and nothing made Byleth happier than to see the pure joy on Seteth’s face whenever his eyes fell upon her carrying his child. 

Byleth knew that he would love her unconditionally even if she couldn’t ever give him children. Seteth himself had vowed the day he proposed to her that the desire to perpetuate their bloodline was secondary to his love for her. However, she knew deep down that children gave him the greatest of joys, and she very much wanted to provide that for him. She, too, enjoyed creating a large family, for she had grown up with such a small one, having no history or knowing hardly anything about herself and her father. 

“What shall we name this one, I wonder?” mused Seteth. “Maybe Lucas or Luke if it’s a boy? Perhaps Lillian if we are blessed with another girl?”

Byleth scoffed as she stroked her husband’s thick locks, “Just because I had said I liked a lot of names that started with the letter ‘L’ doesn’t mean I need all of our children to have names with the same letter.”

“I just thought it would be quite adorable to continue the trend. All of Flayn’s children have names with ‘F’, and with all ours being ‘L,’ it helps differentiate who’s child is who’s,” said Seteth sheepishly into her stomach. 

“How many more babies do you plan on having in the near future for there to be a possibility of getting children mixed up?” asked Byleth incredulously. “Ferdinand is getting old and probably can’t sire much more children. And the whole point of me finally confiding in Claude about our secret was so he could help make a contraceptive potion that would be compatible with my biology, preventing us from having hundreds of children because you can’t help but knock me up every time we have sex!”

Seteth’s cheeks and the tips of his pointed ears turned red with embarrassment. “I-I, well...perhaps a hundred wouldn’t seem like a great deal if we spread them out through the next few thousand years or so...” stammered Seteth, pointedly avoiding her judgmental stare. 

Byleth instantly felt exhausted at the thought of getting pregnant a hundred more times. She couldn’t imagine her perfect physique enduring throughout all those labors, even if she had the Goddess Sothis herself within her.

She suddenly felt her nightgown rise up as Seteth rose up to hover over her, sensually kissing her collarbone and neck.

“Do not stress about all that, my love. For now, let’s savor the chance for me to make love to you without you having to take Claude’s contraceptives.”

Byleth moaned as he feasted on her sensitive breasts and ground his erection into her already wet panties. “As much as I love raising Nabateans with you, I think I enjoy creating them even more...” she hummed blissfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, this series is done! As much as I enjoyed writing this, I did not intend on this going on for so long. I had just originally intended on writing some smut as I entered back into the fanfic writing world. However, I felt compelled to make this into a continuous story. 
> 
> But I have no regrets! I felt like these characters were literally coming alive, basically writing themselves and all I did was tap on the keypad. 
> 
> With this finally done, I can finally focus on writing all the fics that have been constantly popping up into my head the past couple months. Yes, I will be writing more Seteth smut, though not all of it will involve Byleth, at least not F!Byleth.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and/or kudos give me life.


End file.
